CLOSER JUDICIAL COOPERATION

    Meanwhile, the EU, which deems further integration as an uphill task, also achieved some scores in judicial cooperation, information exchange and enhanced cooperation in fight on cross-border crimes.

    The year saw agreement on the "Hague Program," which lays down the lines of a strategy for making the EU more secure over the next five years. Priority will be given to the fight against terrorism, but the program will also cover other important themes such as exchange of information, close cooperation in the field of justice and civil law.

    The EU has also agreed to achieve a common asylum system by 2010. Illegal immigration will be tackled and a European agency will be set up to increase security of external borders.

    Eurojust, the EU's coordination agency of justice, said EU member states have cooperated in more than 300 cases, and that the figure is expected to surge dramatically this year.

    EU ministers of interior and justice have deliberated on and reached consensus in many areas concerning biomarking in passports, member states' mutual recognition of judicial decisions.

    The Europol, as the EU's law enforcement organization, has netted 58 criminals in the first half of 2004 in the fight against euro counterfeiters. Over 307,000 counterfeited euro notes have been withdrawn from circulation, according to statistics from the European Central Bank.

    Nevertheless, the EU's road to full integration remains a bumpy one strewn with huge challenges and risks. The enlargement has led to further complication of EU politics and national referendums cloud ultimate ratification of the hard-won constitution.

    But one thing is crystal clear. The EU leaders and most citizens value integration more than ever before, and it is this ardent quest for EU identity that is driving the integration process forward.

    In this sense, the year 2004 has laid a solid and indispensable foundation for the 25-member bloc's future integration efforts. Enditem